The Hittites, an ancient Indo-European people who appeared in Anatolia at the beginning of the second millennium BC, had become one of the dominant powers of the Middle East by 1340 BC. Early kings of the Hittite Old Kingdom had extended Hittite control over much of northern Syria eventually raiding down the Eurphrates to Babylon. The struggle with Egypt under Ramses II for control of Syria led to one of the greatest battles of the ancient world at Kadesh in 1299 BC. The fall of the Hittite Empire in 1193 BC was sudden - perhaps because of large scale migration - and historical records were scarce. But then the discovery of Hittite cuneiform tablets at their ancient capital of Hattusa (now Bogazkö,Turkey) in the 1940's yielded fascinating information about the people, their political organization, social structure, economy and religion.